Russell Gunn mixes jazz and hip-hop with style
Born and raised in a tough St Louis ghetto, Russell Gunn joined rap and hip-hop bands early on, while learning how to play the trumpet. Then, at the age of 16, he discovered jazz and got absolutely hooked. Yet the musician didn’t abandon hip-hop, but sought ways to incorporate it into a kind of jazz language that was fresh, energetic and primed to an almost aggressive beat. The 35-year-old trumpet soloist is currently in Athens, at the Half Note Jazz Club (17 Trivonianou, Mets, tel 210.921.3310) until tomorrow night, interpreting works from various albums, including «Krunk Jazz» and «Russell Gunn Plays Miles.» Kathimerini met up with the artist recently. «Jazz chooses you, you don’t choose jazz,» he said, when asked how a hip-hop kid turned to jazz. «I was not brought up on jazz, but the minute I came face to face with its magic, I immediately fell in love. I knew instantly that I had found my own path in music.» A composer, trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso, according to the jazz bible Downbeat, Gunn represents the archetype of the contemporary African-American musician. How does he combine jazz with other musical genres? «When you’re a serious student of music there is no way you can betray any kind of music because whatever you learn becomes part of your musical identity,» said Gunn. «Playing one particular style doesn’t suit me. I express myself through a variety of styles. I’m not bothered with what’s in fashion, only what satisfies me as an artist.» LL Cool J was Gunn’s first idol, before Miles Davis worked his magic on him. «Both have this incredible power,» Gunn said. «They play completely different things, but it doesn’t matter at all. What they do is genuine and strong, and that’s exactly what I’m after in music. I have, nevertheless, been influenced by musicians such as Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong and Booker Little.» Gunn’s claim to wider fame is «Ethnomusicology,» a work-in-progresss. «My main aim here is to combine as many pan-African rhythms as possible with harmony and the language of jazz. It looks like they don’t fit with each other, but I have proved that they may be combined,» Gunn said. The interview was translated from the Greek text.
